Deep Blue Daynight Recon T100 White 500M

Here comes another good one from the young American watchmakers. Called Deep Blue Daynight Recon T100 White Automatic, the new semi-professional diver gives you an easily recognizable (although not terribly unique) design with elegant dial sporting the brand’s signature luminous tritium tubes and a very impressive water resistance rating of 500 meters.

Powered by the bullet-proof ETA 2824-2 automatic caliber, which is clearly visible through the massive transparent case-back, the watch also features a scratch-resistant ceramic inlay in its bezel: something that you rarely see in this price range.

While the dial and the inevitable pip at “00” feature long-lasting tritium tubes that will glow for years without the need to be recharged, the bezel has its diving scale painted with SuperLuminova luminous compound that looks white under natural light and changes its hue to a greenish kind in darkness.

As usual for diving watches with such an impressive water resistance rating, the Daynight Recon T-100 White comes in an oversized body 45 millimeters in diameter and almost 17 millimeters thick. However, the watch doesn’t look terribly massive and will look great on a normal wrist.

Its only problem is the aforementioned opening on the case back cover.

The ETA 2824-2 is not the prettiest movement, even with the branded oscillating weight, to begin with, and the fact that the Swiss made caliber looks out of proportion with the oversized body of the watch doesn’t make it any more attractive.

Perhaps, equipping the timekeeper with a solid case-back would make it not only less expensive, but also more refined.

On further consideration, I would add that, if that’s your first mechanical watch with a “Swiss Made” movement inside, you should take into account that ETA earned its reputation thanks to “real” Swiss brands that used to thoroughly inspect each blank caliber sent to them from ETA factories, carefully thinning out the flock throwing away sub-standard parts and replacing them with those designed to their higher specs (Ulysse Nardin and Breitling do that to this day with their outsourced mechanisms). Smaller brands, however, usually simply make sure that the movements actually work, put them in cases in mail them to you hoping that the mechanisms will keep good time while warranty lasts.

If they don’t, they will simply replace the watch, but that usually a sort of hassle that not every first buyer of a luxury (and at $1000 USD it is a luxury) watch is ready for. Honestly, I don’t know about Deep Blue’s quality control process, I am just telling you that in this price range you always have to hope for the best. It’s really not the well-advertised brand on the dial that allows brands like Omega, IWC and Rolex to be offered with higher four- (and often higher five-figure) tags and still sold by tens of thousands pieces per year. I mean, just be prepared.

Still, if you are ready to take the risk, be advised the watch, which is offered on a solid, 4.5 mm thick stainless steel bracelet, is currently sold at a recommended price of $999, but, as usual, you can get one at a “sale price” of $899, which clearly makes this device a real bargain.